profile

Misbah Haque

How to use AI like a $700/hr consultant w/ Danoosh Kapadia | Habit Chess Newsletter

Published 5 months ago • 2 min read

How to Use AI Like a $700/hr Consultant w/ Danoosh Kapadia

Welcome to the Habit Chess newsletter where I talk about training the right skills faster.

read time: 2 minutes

Watch on YouTube or listen on Spotify.

When it comes to AI, most of us are doing one of two things:

  • Automating low-level tasks
  • Chasing whatever new tool is trending this week

But during my conversation with Danoosh Kapadia, an AI educator who coaches executives on strategic thinking, he said something that instantly reframed how I’ve been using it:

“Most people are using AI like a $10/hr intern. But it has the potential to act like a $700/hr consultant—if you know how to engage it that way.”

And that’s the shift we explored for over an hour:

How to stop treating AI like a task rabbit.

And start using it like a sparring partner.

7 takeaways from our episode

1. Generalists will win.

AI is making narrow skills cheaper by the day. The people who can think across disciplines and apply good judgment will have a serious edge.

“Generalists adapt faster. They see patterns specialists miss.”

2. Taste is your edge.

AI can generate endless content. The hard part is knowing what’s actually good. That’s where your human instinct comes in.

“Taste is a sensibility. It’s trained over time.”

3. Frameworks > Prompts

Want better outputs? Give it better structure. Think in frameworks. Communicate clearly.

“It can apply frameworks better than most consultants. You just need to know which one to use.”

4. Skills are devaluing. Learning isn’t.

The value of having a skill is going down. But the value of learning fast and applying well? Going way up.

“Skill acquisition is becoming less important than problem solving and learning just-in-time.”

5. Mindset beats tactics.

This isn’t about prompt engineering as much as it is about how you frame problems and engage with the tool.

“Prompting isn’t a technical skill. It’s a communication skill.”

6. Plan scenarios, not guesses.

With AI, you can now test 3–5 strategic options in minutes. That’s a superpower.

“Instead of overthinking one ‘perfect’ answer, test five quickly. Let AI reduce the uncertainty.”

7. Start by solving real problems.

Forget hypothetical use cases. Start with something real that annoys you. Then try building a solution around it.

“That annoying problem you deal with every week? Build a simple AI workflow to eliminate it.”

Try This:

Set aside 90 minutes.

Pick a real problem in your life or work.

Open voice mode in ChatGPT and talk it out.

Let it help you frame the problem, structure your thinking, and map a solution.

You’ll be shocked how far you get.

If you enjoyed this:

  • Listen to the full episode on Spotify​
  • Watch the full episode on YouTube​

In your corner,

Misbah Haque
Author & Consultant at Pod Mahal​
Writer & Host of Habit Chess​

600 1st Ave, Ste 330 PMB 92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2246
​Unsubscribe · Preferences​

Misbah Haque

Host of Habit Chess, Founder at Pod Mahal

I write about high agency thinking and skill acquisition.

Read more from Misbah Haque

Time Investing 101 Welcome to the Habit Chess newsletter where I talk about training everyday skills to make moves. read time: ~5-6 minutes In 1913 at Ford’s Highland Park plant, building a single Model T took around 12.5 hours. The work was divided into stations, but workers still had to walk, fetch parts, reposition tools, and move around the car itself. The process worked—but it wasn’t designed for flow. Later that year, Ford’s team introduced a moving assembly line. Instead of workers...

12 days ago • 4 min read

We Fear the Wrong Failures Welcome to the Habit Chess newsletter where I talk about training everyday skills to make moves. read time: ~2 minutes I was watching the Netflix documentary on the James Webb Space Telescope (a $10 billion project that took decades of work). It’s the telescope NASA sent farther into space than any we’ve ever built. There’s a moment where NASA engineer Mike Menzel says something I haven’t forgotten since. “Webb launched with 344 single-point failures.” A...

19 days ago • 2 min read

How I Reduce Eye Strain from Scrolling at Night (in 3 Clicks on Your iPhone) Welcome to the Habit Chess newsletter where I talk about training everyday skills to make moves. read time: 2-3 minutes Watch on YouTube or listen on Spotify. I’ve been tracking my sleep on and off for about ten years. I’ve used a wide range of devices. Apple Watch, Fitbit, Whoop strap, Garmin — and the data is all pretty consistent if you run this experiment on yourself. But you don’t even need a sleep tracker to...

about 2 months ago • 4 min read